Santeria a la Maura

Maura singing Santeria

I enjoy watching Maura, an authentic Brasileira singing and doing covers of songs I also happen to love. I have even subscribed to her YouTube channel because I seem not to get enough of her. Hahaha! I love her voice and I think she's got the spunk to make it big someday. I hope somebody signs her up!

I love Santeria. I am still a Sublime fan. However, I think this version is cool!

Happy weekend!

MY Quarter

Where can you find two great people situated opposite each other for eternity?  Only on a coin... an American quarter dollar specifically...

George Washington and Helen Keller can be found on an Alabama quarter.  I happened to find this coin in my purse yesterday and I don't friggin' know how it got there.  Maybe somebody gave it to me as change.  I don't know who...  

I was just amazed with the words on the coin... LIBERTY on one side...COURAGE on the other.  Words that describe what these two great people possessed and fought for when they were still living.  

Why did the quarter come into my possession?  To remind me to have courage in order to fight for liberty?  On what ground?  On what war?  On what situation?  I don't really know...

I am keeping the quarter...  Maybe the greatness of Keller and Washington will rub off on me...someday...someday...

Let There Be Light With Light Fixtures In Your Home

“Let there be light,” and then there was light.

If we are in the dark, we tend to grope for things which may be on our way. However, going around in the dark will never be a problem if we have a bright light to shine on us and help us find our way around.

If you have your own home, you should consider having quality lighting in order for you to see things clearly and also to set a cozy mood. Quality light fixtures should be among the items you should purchase for your home not only to make your house bright but stylish too!

In what way could you make your house brimming with light and style? Try putting elegant and classy chandeliers which will serve not only as sources of light but also as decorative pieces that will make your house more beautiful!

Home lighting creates a great impact in making your home not just a wonderful warm abode but also a place you would want to go home to every night without having to worry about getting lost in darkness.

Shop Clothes Online!

Shopping for clothing is one of the tasks we could never avoid since clothing is one of our basic needs. We may be conscious of the latest fashion trends or we may dress according to our personalities but either way, we should know how and where to shop for quality clothes.

Shopping is one of the most interesting things we look forward to since it is an activity which allows us to purchase what we want. What should we do then if and when we don’t have time to go to shops? Go online shopping!

If you would want to save time from spending on long queues yet would want to choose from a variety of clothes without the hassle, you can shop clothes online. You can check out women’s wear, men’s wear and children’s wear online without having to run from one section to another but with just a few clicks of your mouse button!

Save yourself some time from going amok in clothes stores and start to shop clothes online!

Camiguin Weekend

Last weekend I went to Camiguin with a LOT of people, my mother, and my sister. I never had much sleep the night before and I thought the trip will be canceled because it was raining hard until dawn. Anyway, everything went according to plan and I had fun. It was not a lot of fun but it was fun in its own way.

The trip to and from Camiguin Island was done the old fashioned way. From the Agora Bus Terminal in Cagayan de Oro we headed to the municipality of Balingoan and from there went aboard the ferry and sailed to the island. Once we got to the island we headed to Mambajao where our temporary residence was located. After a festive lunch, we rested a bit and then went from one tourist spot to another.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening of Saturday riding the hired bus (with a kamikaze driver tsk tsk) jumping from Walkway to the Sunken Cemetery to the Old Church Ruins of Cotta Bato to the Soda Pool to the Sto. Niño Cold Spring to Ardent Hibok-hibok Hot Spring. We didn't have much fun at Ardent though because it rained hard and the power went out! We went "home" and slept the night away... All of us were dead tired.

Come Sunday morning the sky was cloudy and I thought it was going to rain again but it didn't! We rode a small motor-powered boat to White Island (which is actually a sandbar) and basked in the sun! After an hour we went back to the mainland taking with us some souvenirs and photos we took on the sandbar. Later on the troop scheduled a visit to Katibawasan Falls but my sister and I chose to stay in our room and prepared our stuff. After lunch we all headed home and spent 4 hours split on the ferry and in the bus. Around 6pm we finally reached our humble home.

What's good about that weekend getaway? A change of environment for less than 48 hours. Hey it's better than being stuck the whole weekend in the same place you are stuck for a long time.

The downside? We never got to explore the island on our own. It's not nice touring with a large group, believe me!

The past two days were both fun and not fun but one thing is for sure, I'm going back to Camiguin and see its real beauty...at my own pace...without having to worry about being left by a bus...and hopefully with no rain!!!

Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this and this gives life to thee. -Sonnet 18, William Shakespeare

Lego Jesus

Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus and images of the Lego Jesus

As a kid I have been fascinated with Lego even though I did not have my own set (we can't afford it and the product was not available in local stores yet) . The only chance I played with Lego was whenever I dropped by my cousin's house (and when she was IN THE MOOD to let me delve into my imagination). I have been fantasizing of owning my own set of blocks yet I lost interest. Now that I am earning my own dough, maybe I should give that childhood hangover/fixation a chance to resolve itself by buying my very own Lego... Hmmm...on my birthday perhaps! :D

Anyway, I found out earlier today that Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus was copied and the copy is made of more or less 30,000 white Lego blocks donated by church-goers! The 5.8 ft statue was painstakingly created for more than a year and was unveiled yesterday, Easter Sunday in Oensta Gryta Church in Vaesteras, Sweden.

Jesus and Lego...Lego and Jesus... Great combo???

Sand and Art

I stumbled upon this video of Ilana Yahav's Sand Art. This is just one of the many clips she has on YouTube and on her site. Enjoy!

“To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand and Eternity in an hour.” -William Blake

“If you must speak ill of another, do not speak it, write it in the sand near the water's edge" -Napoleon Hill

“Our best built certainties are but sand-houses and subject to damage from any wind of doubt that blows” - Mark Twain

“The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” - Niccolo Machiavelli

“Nothing is built on stone; all is built on sand, but we must build as if the sand were stone.” - Jorge Luis Borges

“Time is like a handful of sand- the tighter you grasp it, the faster it runs through your fingers.”

“Relationships-of all kinds-are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold onto some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost.”

“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” - Leonardo da Vinci

“In art the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” - Oscar Wilde

“There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature, or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge." - Friedrich Nietzsche

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” - Thomas Merton

“To a true artist only that face is beautiful which, quite apart from its exterior, shines with the truth within the soul.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.” - Vincent van Gogh